Having suffered the agony of a torn hamstring in the Champions League final back in June, this season has been a tough one to watch after an aborted comeback in August forced him to spend another five months on the sidelines.
He hasn't enjoyed watching his team-mates one bit however good their performances have been, but after marking his comeback with an assist in the 5-0 win over Huddersfield the City talisman can look back on a very different season that may have been exactly what he needed.
"I enjoyed it in a way," he said. "At the beginning it was a big blow but I knew I was going to be out for four or five months so after the first reaction I thought to myself I needed to work hard when I'm working and then I could enjoy the things that I've not been able to do with my family and friends and took it that way.
"Maybe it was good to refresh a little bit. No new hobbies but it was nice to bring my son and daughter to their practices and see their games, what they do. I could go on holiday, which is never possible normally during the year.
"When you have three kids between three and seven, I'm basically a taxi driver. I enjoyed it. I think they enjoyed that Daddy could watch the games and now it will harder for the missus and everywork one to around the programme.
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